Method and apparatus for saving slimes in ore concentration.



Patented; Apr.27,190'9. Y

3 BHBETS-SKEET 1.

, J. N. 1001). METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SAVING SLIMES IN ORE CONCENTRATION.

APPLICATION I'ILBD NOV. 23, 1908.

' J N. noon. METHOD AND AlIAR-ATUS FOE SAVING SLIME3 IN ORE CONCENTRATION.

APPLIOATIOH Hum NOV. 23, 1908 a exams-sum z.

Patented Apr. 27,

J. N. FLOOD.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SAVING SLIMES IN ORE 00NGENTRATION.

APPLIUATION FILED NOV. 23,.1908.

Patented Apr. 27, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

"l (l tl. l 1

JAMES FLOOD, DENVER, COLORADO,

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 27, 1909.

Application fil ed November 2a, 1908. Serial No. 463,981.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that 1, JAMES N. FLOOD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Denver, in the county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods and Apparatus for Saving Shines in Ore Concentration; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the in.- vention, such. as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and apparatus for saving slinies and float metal I use the some.

My invention relates to a method and in concentrating processes wherein allow of dressing water is employed, as 'forinstance in operating what are known as the llittinger type of tables and the'Vanner or belttypes oi comr-imtratm-s. in each of said types of concentrators the separation of the values and gang-no is effected by gravity in the presence of a flow of current of dressing water which carries off the gangue or lighter constituents of the pulp while the values are precipitated upon the table or belt and deivered therefrom by the movement of said tahleor belt. l

The finely conuninuted particles of motallics present in all crushed ore are held either in suspensionnear the surface of the water or float upon the surface, the surface tension and superficial viscosity of the water operating to support the very line metallic particles. Alarge percentage of values is conseqnently in'cvitaoly lost with, or carried off in the tailings by the dressing water. In

order'to save such slimes or l'lont mineral, l

establish upon the surface of the dressing Water employed a series ol' waves or upraised lines of water which intersect the direction of flow of the dressing water on the table, thus promoting preci itn-tion ol the floating metallic particles. llicse waves or upraiscd lines of water may be conveniently established. by means of capillary attraction, the devices chosmi lorthat purpose being so arranged that their lower-edges are located above the normal level of dressing water.

As a special apparatus suitable for use in carrying out the main feature of my invention, I preferably employ a bar orscrics of bars of tapering cross section having the apex or apices thereof disposed above the surface of the dressing water, and in case of a channeled concentrator table, the bars are preferably located in alincmcnt with the channels thereof; and said features const tute secondary or suhm'dinaie foal-tires of my invention.

There are other, minor, l'eatures of invention, involved in the elemental constructions and particular arrangements of the several parts of the apparatus, all as will hereinafter more fully appear.

In the drawingsdeferred to herein and forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan view of what is known as the Card construction of a .llittinger type of concentrator, the same having applied. thereto apparatus adapted to the performance of my method of savlng slimes; 2 is an end elevation of the apparatus, showing a transverse section of the table where the channels are widest; Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view of a portion of the apparatus and table shown in Figs. 1 and 2; Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 are detail views of modifications of the floats or bars which I prefer to employ us apparatus in practicing my method of concentration; Fig. 8 is a plan view of a table and. the slime saving apparatus, showing an arrangement wherein the float bars are applied the whole length-of a tablchaving a diagonal line of llcXurc; Fig. l) is a View of the front end of a Fruo Vauner tv e of concentrator showin partly in side elevation and partly in vertical. section, the application. of the floats or bars thereto; Fig. 10 is a transverse sectional view of the Vanncr hclt showing the relation of the float thereto and to the dressing water llowing thcreover; Fig. 11 an enlarged detail. plan view of a portion of the Vanner belt and one end of a float; Fig. 12 is a diagrammatic view similar to vl ig. 3, illustrating the apparent o'il'crt produced upon. the line metallic iarliclcsz and Ilia. i3 is a diam-aimmatic view {3 illustrating a series ol' waves upon. a plane concentrating surface.

Like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur.

I will now proceed to describe my lllVO-ll "table which may have a plain surface as in the case of the old Rittinger style, or may, as in the present instance, have concentrate channels 0,, either formed in the bed or created by riffies correspondii'ig to the lands a between the channels or grooves a, a. For purposes of illustration the table selected is one in which the cross section of the channels a, a is formed by a long incline on the upper or feed side, and a short, abrupt incline on the lower or tailings side of the table, the two inclines meeting in an obtuse angle; but the character of the channel is not a material matter or one of the limitations of this invention'. The diagonally disposed dotted line appearing in Fig. 1 is employed to indicate a line of fiexure in the table; but said line of flexure is no part of the present invention, nor is it material thereto, or to this descrip tion, except in so far as it assists, when taken in connection with Fig. 8 ol' the drawings, in showing how the slime saving apparatus may be readily applied to a table having such a line of flexure.

B indicates the feed box, and C, C the dressing Water boxes located on the upper or feed side of the table in the usual manner. The table will have the usual lateral inclination to induce the transverse flow of the dressing Water and the discharge of the gangue, and will have a longitudinally rcciprocating movement imparted to it by suitable mechanism (not shown) to discharge the concentrates, as is common to concentrators of this class.

I), l) indicate a series of bars which are sup ported or suspended above the table with 7 their lower edges above the normal. level of the dre'ssingwater surface, in order to produce by capillary attraction the raised water lines, ridges or waves. lVhile the under side of said bars may be brought approxiunitely into the plane of or in contact with. the normal surface of the dressing water, in no instance should they be allowed to dip beneath the water lcvehhs the ellect would be to setup deleterious underllowing water currents. By such an arrangement of the bars 7 the dresswater adjacent to the lower edges the eof is raised above its natural level to lorm a series 01' what ma} be termed capillary Waves, as indicated diagranunatieally in Fig. 13. For the purposes of thisspecification and as indicative that these bars are never submerged, I shall hereinafter form these elements t lloats. These llbats l), b are preferably ol' tapering cross section so as to have a limited line or rounded edge l) presented toward the surface of the dressing Water, and said edges may be single or multiplc for each float l), as indicated. in Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 of the drawings. As will be readily apparent, it is desirable that the floats should be vertically adustable.-

B, B indicate coupling bars or cleats to for supporting the under surfaces of which the lloals l), l) are secured at intervals, preferably at intervals corresponding to the distance bctwccn the channels of a channeled or rilllcd table. As will be noted, said lloats are arranged longitudinally of the: tablc and consequently transversely of or across the flow of the dressing-water. Where a channeled or rilllcd table is used, as shown in the drawings, lhc floats are preferably located in line with and over the channels it, 0. Any suitable means and adjusting the floats may be provided, as for instance those shown in the drawings, which consist of an inicrnally and externally threaded slccvc or nut i\' corbedded in. the table and a thrcadcd bolt l\" which is plain whcrc it passes through the clcat or coupling bar ii and is provided wit h collars 12 for securing the coupling bar thcrcto so that the latter will be movable vertically with said bolt... The number of said adjusting devices N, N, and their location will depend on. the number and arrangcnunit of the floats l) and coupling bars B that the constructor desires to employ.

in Fig. 1 of the drmv'ings the lloats 7/, l are shown as confined to the dressing zone of the table, but they may be cxtcndcd to thc stratifying zone oi the table, as indicaicd in Fig. 8 of the. drawii'igs, by simply arra iging one of the coupling bars ll on the diagonal line of .tlexurc (indicated by the dottcd line, Fig. 1) and lapping the ends of the iloals l), thereon. In such a case, however, it is preicrrcd to omit each alternate lloat, so that they will occupy a staggered relation on opposite sides of the line of llcxnre, as shown in Fig. 8.

in the case ol' the Vanncr type of con-con trator illustrated in Figs. o lo I] of the drawings, the form of the lioals l) and their rclotion to the surface oi the dressing walcr are the same as in the case ol' thc tablc licrctoforc described, ihat is to say, the lower edges of the lloats are arranged to producc capillary waves tr.-:usvcrscly ol the dressing w atcr flow. In these D indicates the belt ol' the concentrator which is provided with the usual upturned flanges d, and is supported in an inclined position, by the rollers d, d in the custtnnary manner. i l indicates the dressing water distributor and F the pulp distributor. The arrow shown in Fig. ll indicates the diriu-tion of travel of thcbclt', which is contrary to the How oi the dressing watcr, so that while thc gangue is carried bm-kwaldly and down- 'ardly by the drcsxeing walcr', the conccutrates are carried forwardly and upwardly by the belt and are discharged into a suitable rece )taclc.

The floats b, I) shown in Figs. 5), 10 and 11 are suspended by means of suspension bars or straps 7,j that are adjustably secured to (ill ill)

lUb

the pulp distributor-F by means of set screws j which pass through elongated slots in the suspension bars. in order to prcvent any slimes from passing between the ends of the lloats and the upturnedilanges d, d ofthe belt, the ends of the lloats are provided with pieces of any suitable flexible material, preferably rubber, which sweep against or bear upon the upturned flanges d of the belt D. The pulp: feeder Il forms a ready and advantageoumeans of suspending the floats;

but such. location or attachnient ofthe floats isnot essential or even material, as independent means of support for the floats may be provided and located over thebelt at any point or points back of the pulpi'eeder.

The construction and arrangement of the apparatus being substantially such as hereinbet'ore pointed out its operation will be as follows: The pulp from the feeder B is distributed along the rearward upper side of the table or deck A and the dressing water is supplied to the table from the dressing water boxes C, Cin the usual manner. If the table is one capable of ilexure on the diagonal. line, the Zone at the rear end and tailings side is slightlyelevated to retard the trans verse flow of the dressing water and facilitate the longitudinal forward travel of the. con- 'centrates. The usual longitudinal motion is imparted to the tablet As soon as the level of the dressing water is established, the capillary floats l), b are adjustedsothat their lower edges causethe formation of waves or ridges above said level, whereupon the slim es and float metals, instead of passing off with the tailings or gangue, will be ail'ceted by said waves and will'be guided to and with the concentrates to the concentrate discharge end of the table, their travel being influenced by the endwise motion of the table, instead of by the llow of the dressing water as heretofore. The adjustment and operation of the hosts are substantially the same in the Vanner type of concentrator as in the table. Where float mineral exists in excess, as in the case of sylvanite, petzite, chalcocite, tctrahedrite, slepl'ianite and the like, only a portion of the arrested. float mineral may be thrown down upon the bolt, the remainder being held by the capillary floats until it extends to and passes over the upper roller with the other conccntratcs. The, apparent ell'ect of the capillary wz'tvesgas l have observed their action in this mode of concentrating upon aconcentrator table7 wlll be understood from an examination ol his. 1.? ol the drawings, wherein 1 is a capillary lloat, .2 the concentrator declt, 3 a

stratum of the coarser metallic-s, 4- float mineral, andy5 gangue. 'lhe feathered arrows show the direct on of flowof the dressing water transversely of the table, and the feather less arrows indicate currents within the aps illazyuave. 'lll'ie capillary waves not only i n i i form upraised lines or ridges of water the crests of which contact the lower edges of the floats, but establish and maintain, both on the surface and internally, currents which capsize the floating particles and, wetting all their surfaces, carry them down to the bottonrof the stream, from whence such wave induced currents are not strong enough to again raise the fine metallics, although they do raise the fine gangue matter and hold it in suspension so that it may pass oil as waste. the practice of my invention, it will be noted, the percentage of slimed inetallics in the tailings is at once largely reduced, as is also the amount of shined silica in the concentrates, while the volume of the concentrates is materially increased.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Pat out is:

1. The method of saving slimes in concentrating processes wherein dressinguwater is employed. to separate coi'mninuted metallic. particles from the accompanying gangue, which consists in effecting a flow of an aqueous mixture of the particles to be separated and establishing an upr aised wave on the surface of said mixture without obstructin the flow of the mixture below the normal level thereof.

2.- The method of saving shines in con'cen trating processes wherein dressing water is employed to separate comminuted metallic particles from the accompanying ganguc,

which consists in eli'ecting a How of an trating processes wherein dressing water is employed to separate comminuted metallic particles from the accompanying gangue,

which consists in cifecting a flow of an aqueous mixture of the particles to be separated and impeding; the ilow of said mixture by the interposition of an obstruction justabove the normal level of said mixture.

4. The combination with a concentrator and a dressing water supply therefor, of a float extending in'a directionintersecting the direction of the dressing water flow, said float having at its lower surface capillary contact with the normal surface of the dress in; water.

5i The combination with a concentrator and a dressing water supply therefor, of a bar floats ranged transversely of the dress ing water flow with its lower edge above the normal surface level oi the dressing water and in. suchproximity to said surface as to establish capillary contact therewith.

6. The combination with a concentrator.

deck having longitudinally disposed channels and a pulp feeder and dressing Water j In testimony whereof I alfix my signature, I supply, of a. plurality of longitudinally (hsl in presence of two subscribing Witnesses. .iM lposa d float bars arrag'iged 1n llne with and A FLOOD over the cliani'iels and having at then lower surfaces capillary Contact Wit-l1 the normal dressing water sin-lace.

\Vit11cssws:

FRANK S. (Jinan W'IL IAM S (7mm, 

